Local News

In the week that we celebrated Grandparents’ Day, a family lawyer from East Devon has spoken of the plight of grandparents who lose contact with their grandchildren as a result of family breakdown, feud or bereavement.

In the UK, grandparents don’t have an automatic right to contact with their grandchildren. However, they can ask the Court for permission to apply for a Child Arrangements Order to see them. It is rare for an application by a grandparent to be refused, unless it can be shown not to be in the child’s best interests.

Zoe Gaitskell, a Partner with Beviss &...

Today, The Wildlife Trusts publish a new report, ‘The case for more Marine Conservation Zones’. The report identifies 48 areas at sea that still need protection for their marine habitats and wildlife. Nine of the sites identified are off Devon’s coasts, with two areas in the Bristol Channel, one in Lyme Bay and six Devon estuaries recommended as MCZs. Following the designation of 50 Marine Conservation Zones since 2011 (of which six are in Devon) these new sites would complete a network of special places where habitats and wildlife can flourish to safeguard healthy and productive seas for...

Police are investigating the shooting of a Peregrine Falcon in South Devon, causing it injury.

The bird of prey was found at a coastal location near Ipplepen on 23rd August 2016 with an injury to its wing. Examination of the bird by a local vet revealed that it had been shot with an air rifle pellet causing fractures to the wing.

There was a coded ring on the bird’s leg that had been placed there whilst in the nest a few weeks after hatching by a local ornithologist and British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) volunteer.

These rings were issued by the BTO to assist in...

Hundreds of people turned out to celebrate the food and heritage of the Exe Estuary on Exmouth seafront last weekend.

Last Saturday, September 24, was the first joint Spirit of the Exe and Exmouth Mussel Festival.

The event was organised by the Exmouth Town Council and the Exe Estuary Management Partnership - a group of eight councils and other organisations responsible for managing the Estuary – including Exmouth Town Council.

Seafood lovers reclined on deck chairs and watched live music, street acts and cookery demonstrations while eating food provided by Exmouth...